Post by hi224 on Dec 17, 2020 2:53:39 GMT
Around 10pm on 18th October 2015, former BBC journalist Jacky Sutton landed in Turkey from her London flight, en route to Erbil, Iraq. Her connecting flight was scheduled to leave at 12.15am, but she would never board it. Jacky was found dead by suicide in the bathroom of the airport only hours later.
Jacky was the acting Iraq director for the IWPR (Institute for War and Peace Reporting) and had worked several other roles, including for the United Nations. According to reports from friends and colleagues, Jacky was ‘warm and confident’, and was currently studying for a PhD on Afghan and Iraqi women journalists at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra. The week before her death, she was talking with her friend, Rohan Jayasekera on Facebook about returning to education in their 50’s. The pair had worked closely together on a media and elections project for UNDP in Baghdad among several other projects.
Earlier in 2015, a friend of Jacky, Ammar Al-Shahbander, was killed in a car-bomb in Baghdad, of which he was not the target. Her response was to offer to take over Ammar’s job whilst a replacement was found. She had retuned to the UK to attend his funeral. When Jacky moved to Erbil, She moved in with the family of journalist Hiwa Osman, who lived in a gated community there as the initial accommodation provided felt unsafe. For many of us, even for someone as independent and astute as Jacky was, this would provide some comfort in a new place.
Jacky’s connecting flight to Erbil was scheduled to leave at 12.15am. Whilst waiting for her connecting flight, CCTV observed her purchasing two bottles of wine she had promised to a friend. In her luggage, were 10 kilos of rabbit food for a malnourished rabbit she was trying to nurse back to health, present for Hiwa Osman’s children, and books for her PhD research. CCTV shows Jacky drinking a beer in the airport cafe whilst reading a book. She had sat there for around an hour enjoying her novel, and then moved to a waiting area where she fell asleep. This caused her to miss her flight despite repeated calls to board, and her plane eventually left on schedule at 12.15am. Minutes later, Jacky walked to the departure gate and was told it had been closed and that her bags had been taken off the flight. The officer at the inquiry desk told her that there was another flight in 12 hours. She began crying, but the officer advised her nothing could be done without purchasing another ticket. Here’s the kicker.. Jacky had credit cards, and enough cash on her to purchase another ticket.
IWRP’s executive director Antony Borden, in an interview with an Australian newspaper said:
‘This was hardly a catastrophe. Frankly, experienced travellers miss a flight and they pretty much feel relieved. “‘Okay, I’m going to a hotel.’” ‘IWPR would have paid the airfare. And what difference does it make if you get to Erbil a bit later? It doesn’t make a damn bit of difference.’
Presumably, Jacky knew IWPR would have paid for a new fare, as most employers would. Sebastian Klich, a friend of Jacky’s said: ‘The Jacky I know would either take the opportunity to have a night out in Istanbul or would start working on her thesis chapter while waiting for the next plane.’
Which is what most of us would do, right? Okay, missing a flight is annoying and more than frustrating. If you’re going on holiday, you’d pay for another ticket, begrudging handing over any extra money you’d have to pay, whilst silently chastising yourself, but it is what it is. If you’re working away however, what would you do? You’d call your employer, tell them you fell asleep and lost track of time, and that you’d be putting in an expenses claim for another ticket. No big deal. That’s not what happened.
After speaking with the airport employee, at approximately 1am, Jacky walked from the Inquiry desk to a rest room, where she then disappeared from view of the CCTV. The footage then shows over the next seven minutes, people entering and exiting the rest room, and shows three young women entering the rest rooms together. They then exited almost immediately in a panic after finding Jacky Sutton’s body in one of the cubicles, in an apparent suicide. She was found hanged by her bootlaces from the hook on the back of the cubicle door. Medical staff and a first aid team had tried to resuscitate her but failed to revive her.
Many of Jacky’s family and friends have spoken out in the 5 years since her death, with mixed views. Her family now accept that Jacky acted alone, and believe that it was not her intention going into the airport, but that she acted under extreme amounts of stress. Anthony Borden’s immediate reaction was that foul play was involved, and he dismissed early claims that she had died by suicide.
In later interviews, Jenny, Jacky’s sister, said she flew out to Turkey with an open mind on what happened. She said, ‘I went to Turkey with the aim of discovering the truth about what happened, I was completely open to the possibility that it had been foul play.’ The night before she left for Iraq, she had discussed with her sister that she had been having trouble sleeping the previous night, mourning Al-Shahbander and other deaths, and was worried that she could not make a difference in the Middle-East. She also discussed her loneliness with her, and speaking in an interview in 2016, said that her sister had ‘absorbed a lot of suffering’ while living in war zones around the world. Jenny has said that ultimately she believed this was an impulsive act. Others are still unsure on what led Jacky to her fate that day.
Jacky had spoken out strongly against terror groups many times, and her colleague Susan Hutchinson believed that people in those organisations were not the only suspect. She said that there were many people who would have liked her silenced. Ultimately, Jacky’s death was ruled a suicide, and that there was no evidence that she did not act alone.
But it still warrants the ultimate question that may never be answered for some. What happened to Jacky Sutton?
More information about Jacky’s life and incredible work in the Middle East can be found from various sources online.
Sources:
www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/what-happened-to-jacky-sutton-20151116-gl002b.html
littleatoms.com/world/my-friend-jacky-sutton-feared-no-evil
Jacky was the acting Iraq director for the IWPR (Institute for War and Peace Reporting) and had worked several other roles, including for the United Nations. According to reports from friends and colleagues, Jacky was ‘warm and confident’, and was currently studying for a PhD on Afghan and Iraqi women journalists at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University in Canberra. The week before her death, she was talking with her friend, Rohan Jayasekera on Facebook about returning to education in their 50’s. The pair had worked closely together on a media and elections project for UNDP in Baghdad among several other projects.
Earlier in 2015, a friend of Jacky, Ammar Al-Shahbander, was killed in a car-bomb in Baghdad, of which he was not the target. Her response was to offer to take over Ammar’s job whilst a replacement was found. She had retuned to the UK to attend his funeral. When Jacky moved to Erbil, She moved in with the family of journalist Hiwa Osman, who lived in a gated community there as the initial accommodation provided felt unsafe. For many of us, even for someone as independent and astute as Jacky was, this would provide some comfort in a new place.
Jacky’s connecting flight to Erbil was scheduled to leave at 12.15am. Whilst waiting for her connecting flight, CCTV observed her purchasing two bottles of wine she had promised to a friend. In her luggage, were 10 kilos of rabbit food for a malnourished rabbit she was trying to nurse back to health, present for Hiwa Osman’s children, and books for her PhD research. CCTV shows Jacky drinking a beer in the airport cafe whilst reading a book. She had sat there for around an hour enjoying her novel, and then moved to a waiting area where she fell asleep. This caused her to miss her flight despite repeated calls to board, and her plane eventually left on schedule at 12.15am. Minutes later, Jacky walked to the departure gate and was told it had been closed and that her bags had been taken off the flight. The officer at the inquiry desk told her that there was another flight in 12 hours. She began crying, but the officer advised her nothing could be done without purchasing another ticket. Here’s the kicker.. Jacky had credit cards, and enough cash on her to purchase another ticket.
IWRP’s executive director Antony Borden, in an interview with an Australian newspaper said:
‘This was hardly a catastrophe. Frankly, experienced travellers miss a flight and they pretty much feel relieved. “‘Okay, I’m going to a hotel.’” ‘IWPR would have paid the airfare. And what difference does it make if you get to Erbil a bit later? It doesn’t make a damn bit of difference.’
Presumably, Jacky knew IWPR would have paid for a new fare, as most employers would. Sebastian Klich, a friend of Jacky’s said: ‘The Jacky I know would either take the opportunity to have a night out in Istanbul or would start working on her thesis chapter while waiting for the next plane.’
Which is what most of us would do, right? Okay, missing a flight is annoying and more than frustrating. If you’re going on holiday, you’d pay for another ticket, begrudging handing over any extra money you’d have to pay, whilst silently chastising yourself, but it is what it is. If you’re working away however, what would you do? You’d call your employer, tell them you fell asleep and lost track of time, and that you’d be putting in an expenses claim for another ticket. No big deal. That’s not what happened.
After speaking with the airport employee, at approximately 1am, Jacky walked from the Inquiry desk to a rest room, where she then disappeared from view of the CCTV. The footage then shows over the next seven minutes, people entering and exiting the rest room, and shows three young women entering the rest rooms together. They then exited almost immediately in a panic after finding Jacky Sutton’s body in one of the cubicles, in an apparent suicide. She was found hanged by her bootlaces from the hook on the back of the cubicle door. Medical staff and a first aid team had tried to resuscitate her but failed to revive her.
Many of Jacky’s family and friends have spoken out in the 5 years since her death, with mixed views. Her family now accept that Jacky acted alone, and believe that it was not her intention going into the airport, but that she acted under extreme amounts of stress. Anthony Borden’s immediate reaction was that foul play was involved, and he dismissed early claims that she had died by suicide.
In later interviews, Jenny, Jacky’s sister, said she flew out to Turkey with an open mind on what happened. She said, ‘I went to Turkey with the aim of discovering the truth about what happened, I was completely open to the possibility that it had been foul play.’ The night before she left for Iraq, she had discussed with her sister that she had been having trouble sleeping the previous night, mourning Al-Shahbander and other deaths, and was worried that she could not make a difference in the Middle-East. She also discussed her loneliness with her, and speaking in an interview in 2016, said that her sister had ‘absorbed a lot of suffering’ while living in war zones around the world. Jenny has said that ultimately she believed this was an impulsive act. Others are still unsure on what led Jacky to her fate that day.
Jacky had spoken out strongly against terror groups many times, and her colleague Susan Hutchinson believed that people in those organisations were not the only suspect. She said that there were many people who would have liked her silenced. Ultimately, Jacky’s death was ruled a suicide, and that there was no evidence that she did not act alone.
But it still warrants the ultimate question that may never be answered for some. What happened to Jacky Sutton?
More information about Jacky’s life and incredible work in the Middle East can be found from various sources online.
Sources:
www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/what-happened-to-jacky-sutton-20151116-gl002b.html
littleatoms.com/world/my-friend-jacky-sutton-feared-no-evil